Ohio to Adopt a Less Stringent CIPA
Local librarians convince legislators to soften filtering law's language
By Walter Minkel -- School Library Journal, 4/1/2004
Why is Ohio passing its own Internet filtering law? Because state lawmakers want all libraries to install filtering software, and one way to enforce the law is by threatening to pull state library funds.
Originally, the bill's sponsor, Senator Steve Austria (R-Beavercreek), mandated that library patrons under 18 use Internet filters at all times and obtain parental consent to borrow videos. Libraries that fail to comply would lose their state library funds.
But all that changed in February when the Ohio Library Council (OLC), an advocacy group representing the state's 251 public libraries, met with Austria to soften the law's language. Now students under the age of 18 can request that filters be turned off for research purposes, but they still need permission to borrow videos.
Despite a new version of the bill, OLC's Lynda Murray says only 40 percent of Ohio's public libraries plan to install filtering software. Although the organization doesn't support the goals of the bill, it wants to work with legislators to educate them about how libraries operate, Murray adds.
Ohio is the latest state considering adoption of its own version of CIPA. Similar bills are also pending in Utah, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Jersey, and Virginia.
